THE GLORY OF KANAKA DURGA AT VIJAYAWADA

Kanakadurga Temple is situated on the banks of river krishna at Vijayawada in ANDHRAPRADESH. Vijayawada is a holy place, punya kshtra as both krishna river & Durga temple are situated. Goddess kanaka durga is swayambu (self manifested) & It is one of the largest temples in India. Local people call it as ''Kanaka Durgamma gudi''.

Durga, means Invincible. She is the principle form of the Goddess, also known as Devi and Shakti. Durga the mahashakti, the form and formless, is the root cause of creation, preservation and destruction. As per puranas, Durga Manifested herself for killing the buffalo demon Mahisasura, when all Gods could not overcome him. She is pure Shakti, having manifested herself having all the powers of all gods, so that she may fulfill the tasks of killing the demons.

The word "Durga" in Sanskrit means a fort, or a place which is difficult to overrun.

Another meaning of "Durga" is "Durgatinashini," means "the one who eliminates sufferings." Thus, Hindus believe that Goddess Durga protects her devotees from the evils of the world and at the same time removes their miseries.

.., Durga incarnated as the united power of all divine beings, who offered her the required physical attributes and weapons to kill the demon "Mahishasur". Her nine forms are Skandandamata, Kusumanda, Shailaputri, Kaalratri, Brahmacharini, Maha Gauri, Katyayani, Chandraghanta and Siddhidatri.

Durga is depicted as having eight arms. This suggests that she protects the devotees from all directions. Like Shiva, Mother Durga is also referred to as "Triyambake" meaning the three eyed Goddess. The left eye represents desire (the moon), the right eye represents action (the sun), and the central eye knowledge (fire).

Durga rides on a lion, which represents power, will and determination.Mother Durga riding the lion symbolizes her mastery over all these qualities. This suggests to the devotee that one has to possess all these qualities.

STORY OF KANAKADURGA TEMPLE AT VIJAYAWADA ...

Sage Indrakila practiced severe penance and when the Goddess appeared the sage pleaded Her to reside on his head and keep vigil on the wicked demons. As per his wish, Goddess Durga made Indrakila Her permanent place. Later, She killed the demon Mahishasura & protected the people from evil.Then Goddess Durga shone on the Keeladri mountain as MAHISHASURA MARDINi. she had eight arms & was riding on a lion. The GODDESS is glowing like gold, then Indra and all the deities praised her as "KANAKA DURGA" and they began worshipping her. Durgaa sapthashati and other vedic literature have mentioned about Goddess Kanaka Durga on Indrakeelaadri . On this mountain, Arjuna obtained the Pasupatha astra after his great penance for Lord Shiva. Vijay is one of the ten names of Arjuna.The city derived its name "Vijayawada" from this episode. The temple was constructed for Goddess Durga by Arjuna.People can reach the temple by steps or ghat road. During Dasara or Navaratri special pujas are performed to the GODDESS KANAKA DURGA. The most significant are Saraswati puja and different Alamkarams done to the GODDESS for nine days.The shrine of Malleswara Swamy is in the premises of Durga temple on the Indrakeeladri. This temple is known as SRI DURGA MALLESWARA DEVASTHANAM also.

In Andhra Pradesh she is also worshipped as Kanaka Durgammathalli. She is also known by the name of Chandi Bhavani.

DURGA SAPTASHATI OR DEVI MAHATYAM.

The Devi Mahatmyam ,( "Glory of the Goddess") is a Hindu religious text describing the victory of the goddess Durga over Mahishasura. It was composed in Sanskrit by the sage (Rishi)Markandeya. Devi Mahatmyam is also known as DURGA SAPTASHATI or, CHANDI PATHA. The text contains 700 verses, arranged into 13 chapters. Devi Mahatmyam defines divinity as a shakti, which takes the form of the female gender. Goddess Durga is the mother of the universe and believed to be the power behind the work of creation, preservation, and destruction of the world. It is about praying the feminine Goddess or the feminine divinity.The nine days of Navaratri are classified as per the three basic qualities of tamas, rajas and sattva. The first three days are tamas, where the Goddess is fierce form like Durga and Kali. The next three days are rajas, gentle form like Lakshmi, provider of the material things. The last three days are sattva, jnana rupa form like Saraswati ,provider of to knowledge and enlightenment.

DURGA SAPTAShATI contains 700 slokas , which are recited during CHANDI HOMAM on 8th day of Navaratri known as DURGA ASTHAMI. From these 700 slokas, seven slokas are called as Durga sapta sloki , & people recite this daily.

Navaratri, also called as Dussehra, is a cultural festival of great importance in INDIA.. It is a festival that is all about the Goddess, DURGA. In Karnataka, Dussehra is about Chamundi, in Bengal it is about Durga in south india it is DEVI PUJA. The tenth day is Vijayadashami, the day of victory over the demons by the GODDESS DURGA. In north india, they celebrate Dussehra as RAM LEELA. There Vijayadashami is celebrated as victory of Lord Rama over Demon Ravana. In south india, it is the triumph of Goddess Durga over Mahishasura , the buffalo demon. On this day in Treta Yug, LORD RAMA killed Ravana who had abducted Rama's wife Sita & held captive in his kingdom, Lanka. Rama, Lakshmana, Hanuman and their army of monkeys fought a great battle to rescue Sita. This story is known as RAMAYANA.

Rama had performed "Chandi Homa" to get the blessings of Durga to win over RAVANA. On the day of Ashvija Shukla Dashami, Rama defeated Ravana and rescued Sita. Thus it is termed as Vijaya Dashami.

"Durga, the great Warrior Goddess, represents the dangerous energy of divine anger when turned against evil.

DURGA is worshiped as the supreme power of the Supreme Being and has been mentioned in many scriptures .

The festival of Dasara for Goddess "Durga" is celebrated in vijayawada every year. A large number of pilgrims attend the colorful celebrations.